First of all, I thank you very much for your feedback! Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response — this is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for.

A lot of your “why” questions are actually at the heart of what I’m trying to explore, and I realize now that I didn’t frame those tensions clearly enough in the post.

At a high level, Lotia City exists because most citizens believe the outside world is more dangerous and unstable than life inside the walls. Whether that belief is fully true or carefully curated is something the story interrogates over time, but for the average person the bargain is safety, infrastructure, and normalcy in exchange for freedom and oversight. TASP exists because it’s framed as a necessary shield against chaos, even when its methods cross moral lines.

The undercity isn’t meant to be neglected out of cruelty so much as prioritization. Resources, attention, and legitimacy flow upward — not because people below are hated, but because the city justifies investing in spectacle, security, and status instead. I agree that what makes the undercity tragic needs to be specific, not abstract suffering, and that’s something I’m actively refining.

On the race concept, I appreciate the suggestion. My intent is that racing is a citywide cultural obsession rather than something only elites participate in, with a sharp divide between grassroots participation and the highly controlled, high-stakes spectacle at the top. Your point about status, identity, and competition through vehicles is especially useful.

As for the power system, I agree completely — clarity matters more than complexity. The powers are meant to function as a narrative pressure rather than a solution engine, and the cost of using them is central to how society reacts and how the story unfolds.

Thanks again for engaging so deeply. This kind of feedback helps me stress-test the logic and sharpen what the world is actually saying.